Link: Greg McElroy Defends Kalen DeBoer

[Bamabuzzard]

It's not the same, and there will never again be a program that will win six national titles over a twelve year period. There might be some that win back-to-back titles or win two over a four or five year period, but never again will there be a true long term sustained dynasty.

I've said before that Power 4 college football, and more so the SEC, is like the NFL now in terms of parity, but even in the NFL you can get a dynasty going like Mahomes and the Chiefs or Brady and the Patriots, but not in college when a starting roster is completely turned over every three years, and you can no longer stockpile talent.

Yep, the "critics" got what they wanted and that was parity. They got so tired of Alabama and the SEC that they pushed for ANYTHING to change it, and they got it.

 

[Elefantman]

Yep, the "critics" got what they wanted and that was parity. They got so tired of Alabama and the SEC that they pushed for ANYTHING to change it, and they got it.

Lot's of wisdom behind this old phrase: "Be careful what you wish for". You can never escape the law of unintended consequences.

 

[RammerJammer15]

It's not the same, and there will never again be a program that will win six national titles over a twelve year period. There might be some that win back-to-back titles or win two over a four or five year period, but never again will there be a true long term sustained dynasty.

I've said before that Power 4 college football, and more so the SEC, is like the NFL now in terms of parity, but even in the NFL you can get a dynasty going like Mahomes and the Chiefs or Brady and the Patriots, but not in college when a starting roster is completely turned over every three years, and you can no longer stockpile talent.

If you really want to see what the future of CFB parity is going to look like, look towards the NBA.

The NBA's entire existence was built around dynasties, the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, 00s Lakers, and 10s Warriors, but there hasn't been a repeat champion since 2018, part of the reason are the rules that have been implemented to make it harder for teams to keep talent, super teams just don't exist anymore.

Sounds a bit similar to CFB, who hasn't had a repeat champion since 2022 and I highly doubt Indiana will repeat in 2026.

Also, I've constantly had to tell people that Alabama was the last dynasty in CFB unless rules change somehow.

 

[davefrat]

If you really want to see what the future of CFB parity is going to look like, look towards the NBA.

The NBA's entire existence was built around dynasties, the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, 00s Lakers, and 10s Warriors, but there hasn't been a repeat champion since 2018, part of the reason are the rules that have been implemented to make it harder for teams to keep talent, super teams just don't exist anymore.

Sounds a bit similar to CFB, who hasn't had a repeat champion since 2022 and I highly doubt Indiana will repeat in 2026.

Also, I've constantly had to tell people that Alabama was the last dynasty in CFB unless rules change somehow.

Well, if there aren't going to be any more dynasties, it's fine with me if Bama is the last one ever.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

If you really want to see what the future of CFB parity is going to look like, look towards the NBA.

The NBA's entire existence was built around dynasties, the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, 00s Lakers, and 10s Warriors, but there hasn't been a repeat champion since 2018, part of the reason are the rules that have been implemented to make it harder for teams to keep talent, super teams just don't exist anymore.

Sounds a bit similar to CFB, who hasn't had a repeat champion since 2022 and I highly doubt Indiana will repeat in 2026.

Also, I've constantly had to tell people that Alabama was the last dynasty in CFB unless rules change somehow.

Yep, I believe this. What CFB now allows just makes it too hard for teams to convince talent to stay for non-monetary reasons. The money is too alluring.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

If you really want to see what the future of CFB parity is going to look like, look towards the NBA.

The NBA's entire existence was built around dynasties, the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, 00s Lakers, and 10s Warriors, but there hasn't been a repeat champion since 2018, part of the reason are the rules that have been implemented to make it harder for teams to keep talent, super teams just don't exist anymore.

Sounds a bit similar to CFB, who hasn't had a repeat champion since 2022 and I highly doubt Indiana will repeat in 2026.

Also, I've constantly had to tell people that Alabama was the last dynasty in CFB unless rules change somehow.

I fully agree that Dynasties are over in CFB unless we ever pull back and put guardrails on NIL and the Portal.

I also don’t necessarily think Indiana repeats as NC but most of that is that it’s always been extremely difficult to repeat in CFB before the parity and I would think it’s exponentially more difficult now with the added context of an expanded playoff field.

But I don’t think Indiana is going to disappear either. I would be very surprised if they don’t at least make the CFBP field again this year.

Cignetti can coach. People don’t like him but he can coach.

 

[spidermayin]

Think of it this way: Winning three championships in a row is like opening three straight seasons by playing four top-10 teams and beating all four every single year.

But repeating as champion may be even harder. After the long offseason, you may have to travel significant distances and still bring your best performance in every playoff game.

What are the chances Indiana repeats this year with such a huge target on its back? It is one thing to be the team nobody expects. It is completely different when every opponent sees beating you as a season-defining win.

 

[BamaMoon]

He's learning on the job how to be the Bama coach. He was the most qualified of any who would come and I'm glad we got him!!!

IMO, the next steps are learning to overcome the "hiccup" games of not looking prepared cause in this league you hve to bring your best each game.

The other thing is learning to have more of a killer instinct when the game plan is working. IOW, when we get a lead, DON'T let up. Kill their hopes of a comeback!!!

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

He's learning on the job how to be the Bama coach. He was the most qualified of any who would come and I'm glad we got him!!!

IMO, the next steps are learning to overcome the "hiccup" games of not looking prepared cause in this league you hve to bring your best each game.

The other thing is learning to have more of a killer instinct when the game plan is working. IOW, when we get a lead, DON'T let up. Kill their hopes of a comeback!!!

Yeah, Coach Saban learned that lesson against $cam...

 

[Slowpoke Catracho]

I think it's funny that Finebaum went off on DeBoer for not concentrating on "Winning a NC" at Alabama when Saban wrote a book about "not being results oriented" but being "process oriented".

 

[bamaga]

If you really want to see what the future of CFB parity is going to look like, look towards the NBA.

The NBA's entire existence was built around dynasties, the 60s Celtics, 80s Lakers, 90s Bulls, 00s Lakers, and 10s Warriors, but there hasn't been a repeat champion since 2018, part of the reason are the rules that have been implemented to make it harder for teams to keep talent, super teams just don't exist anymore.

Sounds a bit similar to CFB, who hasn't had a repeat champion since 2022 and I highly doubt Indiana will repeat in 2026.

Also, I've constantly had to tell people that Alabama was the last dynasty in CFB unless rules change somehow.

You say that like it’s been twenty years, when in actuality it’s only been two seasons

 

[AlexanderFan]

Everything you said is completely true. It was inevitable that he would be compared to Saban and the results that he generated. However, I don't believe that Saban's or Alabama's standard was or is to win a national championship at least once every three years. In other words, the results that Saban generated were not his planned standard, nor is it, or should be, the standard of any other school or athletic organization of any other kind.

Now, of course the media will continue to compare DeBoer's Alabama to Saban's Alabama because that's just what they do, and honestly, anyone who would rank Mario Cristobal as a top 10 coach I can't take particularly serious. He doesn't have hiccups, he has throw-ups.

My only thing is that I don't want the fanbase or administration to be influenced by whatever nonsense the media is saying, which I fear happens. This isn't an Alabama specific concern, I think it happens with every major program. The media starts the fire, the fanbase fans the flames, and then the administration feels the heat and ends up making a change as a result. Sometimes it can work for the better, but most times it doesn't. I'm not saying that there is no one who we could possibly get that would do a better job than DeBoer, there very well could be and probably is, we just don't know who they are. I just know that, personally, I can say definitively there are only three better coaches in college and that's Smart, Cignetti and Day. Anyone beyond that I feel very comfortable making the argument as to why DeBoer is better.

With all that said, I recognize that is well beyond the scope of what you were saying. I just wanted to vent after reading and hearing some recent comments about DeBoer's perceived struggles from the outside media. It's just been aggravating.

I don’t know if you’ve read Saban’s book, maybe he’s got more than one, I don’t know. If you’ve read the first book you will see that Saban’s “standard” is to do the little things right until you can’t get them wrong. Concistency in doing the little things right over and over create the by-products of tackles for loss, sacks, picks, pancake blocks, touchdown runs, touchdown passes, etc. By-products of those are wins, by-products of win, championships. Establishing the habit of doing the little things right consistently create men of substance, some still in the NFL today, some have moved into other successful careers. People viewing Saban’s standard as wins and championships are viewing it incorrectly.

A point about DeBoer at Notre Dame: there’s only one or two schools on their schedule who can beat them, so sleep walking through the others isn’t like tiptoeing through the SEC minefield. Same goes for the B1G; the elite teams only have to truly focus on a few games in the regular season because of the talent disparity. DeBoer would probably be undefeated at Lame in the regular season, with a two losses in the playoffs.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Consistent winning takes care of a lot of the criticisms. Right now the back to back 4 loss seasons are a talking point. So, a great start would be to only lose 2-3 this season. That more than likely means you made playoffs again and either had a great regular season or a great post season. Lose four or more for a third straight season and it only gets louder.